Rizzuto's Walk-Off Single

WALTHAM, Mass. – An RBI single to center by sophomore third baseman Steve Rizzuto (Belmont/Belmont HS) with two outs in the tenth drove in senior catcher Charlie Auditore (Walpole/ Walpole HS) and give Bentley University a 6-5 game one win over Stonehill College in Northeast-10 Conference baseball Friday afternoon at DeFelice Field.

Stonehill came back in the nightcap, scoring five times in the fifth to gain a 7-2 victory and a split of the twinbill.

In the tenth, Auditore was hit by a pitch leading off the inning. He moved to second on a single by freshman center fielder Joe Cacciatore (Lexington/Lexington HS) and to third on a fielder's choice. He remained at third on a ground out before scoring the game-winner on Rizzuto's walk-off single.

Bentley, down 3-0 after a half inning and 4-1 midway through the fourth, tied the game with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Junior left fielder Liam Sears (Springfield/Pope Francis HS) and freshman DH Cory Bright (Revere/Revere HS) both had RBI singles and another RBI single, this one to right by sophomore right fielder Tim Zupkus (Middlebury, Conn./Holy Cross HS), squared the score at four runs apiece.

After Stonehill regained the lead with a run in the seventh on an RBI single by freshman DH Trey Ciulla-Hall (Brockton), Bentley countered in the eighth. Bright moved 90 feet to third base on Cacciatore's single and scored on an error.

Sears and Zupkus each had three of Bentley's ten hits in the game

Junior right-hander Brandon Ostiguy (East Greenbush, N.Y./Columbia HS) earned the win for Bentley, improving to 3-0 on the year, with four innings of two-hit, one-run relief. He walked three but struck out five.

Game two was scoreless through four, but Stonehill took advantage of four straight walks during a five-run fifth innings, including two with the bases loaded. The inning also included a pair of sacrifice flies, from senior center fielder John Orzechowski (Monroe, Conn.) and Ciulla-Hall.

Bentley's only run scored on a Zupkus sac fly in the fifth inning.

For Stonehill, senior right-hander Michael White (Stamford, Conn.) and freshman Logan Lawrence (Taunton) combined on a four-hitter.

The two teams continue their four-game series Saturday with a noon doubleheader on DeFelice Field.